Friday, October 17, 2014

Emergency infrastructure is unprepared

Yes, I've decided to write about this Ebola media frenzy. I'm not making light of the situation, but I do feel like this post title says. The American healthcare system is not prepared for Ebola as it is. And with the second nurse being watched closely for Ebola symptoms, everyone in higher authority is quick to blame nurses for inadequately handling Mr. Duncan's case. The Centers for Disease Control continues to investigate the inadequacies of the Dallas Presbyterian.

1) PPE is not effective. Why is everyone else wearing hazmat gear except the ER nurses who usually have first contact with a patient?

2) Training is not mandatory. Not everyone will attend.

3) How do we get rid of and or, transport the biohazard? Nobody knows. No one at my work has a clue on this. I'm not saying we're idiots, I'm just saying we don't have protocols on such a deadly virus as Ebola.

I still love working in the ER. As it stands, nurses are usually first point of contact with the patient. Doctors will give out orders or have a PA assess the patient, but its usually us nurses who draw blood and make nurses assessments to inform the doctor.

Yes, everyone and their dog blames the nurse should something go wrong.

1 comment:

The nurse is always to blame, the convenient scapegoat. Of course the PPE was not effective. The CDC, prior to their new guidelines of paper PPE for healthcare workers, had protocols in effect that government workers dealing with ebola must wear Level A positive pressure hazmat suits because the disease is classified as a Level 4 biohazard. And they wonder why the nurses contracted the disease? They knew better.